U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that “too many terrorist organizations” find refuge in Pakistan and reiterated his call for the country to do more to address a growing problem of terrorism within its borders that, he said, threatensto destabilize Pakistan itself.

“There are too many terrorist organizations that find a safe place in Pakistan from which to conduct their operations and attacks against other countries,” Tillerson said, speaking in India’s capital on the final stop of a tour through the Middle East and South Asia. The extremist groups’ growing strength and capability “can lead to a threat to Pakistan’s own stability,” he said.

At a news conference at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Tillerson said that in a meeting Tuesday with Pakistan’s interim prime minister, its army chief and other leaders in Islamabad, he had outlined “certain expectations” of “mechanisms of cooperation” that Pakistan must fulfill to address the problem or face U.S. reprisals. Pakistan’s government has long denied the existence of havens for terrorist groups.

 

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Featured image of Secretary Tillerson and Indian PM Narendra Modi courtesy of Wikipedia